‘Kai, it’s okay. I’m fine now. I just need to know the truth. Who is this Astrid and why is she threatening me to stay away from you?’
Kai sighed, ‘She’s a vampire.’
‘What?’ Sienna gasped, shocked.
‘She’s a friend who warned me to stay away from you. She believes that you are too weak to be with me. Your humanity, I mean. She told me I should stay away from you because you don’t belong in our world.’
‘A vampire?’ she said aloud, her eyes growing wide with shock. She sat down on a small wall nearby. ‘This week is getting weirder by the minute,’ she said. ‘A real vampire? Like in the movies? The living dead...’
‘Well, yes, a vampire, like in the movies, but not really the living dead...’ he trailed off. Kai hung his head, ashamed. ‘This was never my intention.’
‘This is insane Kai. I can’t walk around in fear of this girl ... vampire ... whatever she is. She was so strong. She could have snapped my neck in an instant.’
‘I promise you; she won’t come close to you again. I’ll make sure of that,’ he vowed.
CHAPTER 17
A week went by but Kai couldn’t find Astrid. He searched everywhere; even returning to the club to find her. He tried to never leave Sienna’s side – picking her up for school and even walked with her between classes. He was never sure whether Astrid might be around; ready to attack her again. He knew he had to make a plan to get hold of her.
‘You don’t have to walk me everywhere, you know,’ Sienna had reassured him, but he always kept a close distance.
‘I just don’t want to see you get hurt again,’ he replied, seeing her off at her biology class. ‘She can’t find me in here,’ she said smiling.
‘She can be anywhere, Sienna. She looks like a real human when she isn’t turned.’
‘Well then, I’ll be sure to yell loudly enough so that you can come rushing to my rescue next time,’ she giggled, taking his hand to encourage him to relax. ‘My very own bodyguard,’ she smiled, tiptoeing to give a peck on the cheek before walking into her classroom.
That afternoon he made sure she got home safely and decided to go to the forest, hoping that Astrid would find him there. He sat at his usual place beside the waterfall, his feet dangling in the deep pool forming under the towering spray. The overhanging cliffs stretched for meters above him. The cool spray of the water splashing down in the pool came as a welcome coolant as the summer heat slowly but surely approached.
Suddenly, a person came splashing down along with the streaming water, causing ripples of waves extending outwards towards him.
‘What the...’ he was unsure whether he should help the person or whether he was imagining it. But then, before his eyes was Astrid, soaking wet ... and naked. He tried not to stare, but he was enveloped with shock.
‘What on earth are you doing?’ he asked incredulously.
‘Swimming. What does it look like I’m doing?’ she replied dryly.
He realised he was staring and suddenly looked away, ashamed of his indiscretion. He took off his shirt and gave it to her. ‘Put this on,’ he pleaded.
‘Why? It’s not like I need covering up,’ she said devilishly.
‘Please Astrid. Just do it.’
She rolled her eyes and took the shirt from his hands, pulling it over her wet body. Faster than the eye could see, she shook her head, drying her hair almost immediately. ‘Okay, you can look. I’m decent.’
He turned around, looking her straight in the eye. His eyes turned a bright green as he gave her a steely stare. The claws expanding from his fingernails and his teeth became razor sharp.
‘Whoa, what’s with the drama?’ she asked showing her fangs. She stood back and bent her knees, ready to pounce.
‘You’re one to talk Astrid. You create problems wherever you go. And to top it all off, you attack the people I care about and I’ll not stand for that,’ he replied, anger spitting from his mouth.
‘Oh, so that’s what this is all about,’ she said, relaxing her stance.
‘Should have known miss poppet wouldn’t listen to me and go running to her fierce kitty,’ she mocked.
Kai stalked closer as he fully transformed and looked her in the eye. ‘Now you listen to me, Astrid. I’m sick of your games. You leave Sienna alone. Do you hear me? You leave my family and all my friends alone or I swear that I will make your life a living hell,’ he hissed loudly.
His thunderous voice boomed off the high, rocky escarpment surrounding the waterfall. Astrid’s eyes, wide with shock, looked at him, unblinkingly, taking in his words. Before he could react, she slashed a fierce clawed hand across his face, leaving deep scratches. He hissed as he threw her to the side, her body slamming into a nearby rock.
‘You stupid fool,’ she yelled as she got up and punched him with all her force, throwing him into the waterfall’s pool. ‘She isn’t safe!’
‘She is now,’ he growled, as he marched out of the water towards her.
‘It’s not me she should be afraid of. I was trying to protect your stupid beloved...’ she said as he came closer and swung his powerful tail from behind, ripping her feet from underneath her. She came down with a thud, making room for Kai to kneel over her.
‘Well, you’ve got a funny way of showing it,’ his paw tightly pinning her to the ground.
‘He’s after her!’ she exclaimed.
‘You’re lying,’ he hissed.
She flashed her fangs at him and lunged forward, biting him in the neck. He let out a loud cry as her sharp teeth sank deep into his flesh. He retaliated and ripped her away from his neck, exposing a gaping wound. He held her in a grip-lock with the one paw, pinning her back up against his chest.
‘Why did you attack her?’ he breathed into her ear, blood still flowing from his exposed wounds.
‘I wanted to scare her, okay!’
‘She did nothing to you and did not deserve this Astrid. Stay away from her. I care for her and you need to accept that.’ He pushed her away from him, but Astrid didn’t turn around to continue the fight.
‘He’s coming for her,’ she sighed, breathing loudly.
‘Who are you talking about?’
‘Quinn!’ she yelled. ‘I told you that you should stay away from her Kai. Now, they are coming to kill her. She’s in danger.’
‘What?’ he asked, still unconvinced.
‘He’s just playing for time,’ she explained, straightened herself out. ‘They are coming for both of you,’ she looked at him, her eyes sincere. ‘Kai, they know that you are together and he is coming to end this thing ... this, whatever it is you two have going on.’
‘So you weren’t attacking her to hurt her? You were attacking her to scare her away from me?’
‘Exactly,’ she rolled her eyes.
‘So we stop him. You and I, together.’
Her eyes grew big, ‘Oh, no, no, no, no, no,’ she repeated holding one finger up in the air. ‘I warned you, but did you listen? Nooo,’ she mumbled under her breath.
‘Astrid, I need you,’ he said as he placed his paw on her shoulder. ‘I can’t do this alone...’
She grumbled under her breath, looking at the floor. He wasn’t at all sure what she was going to say to him. She was quiet, frozen like a statue. He was unsure what to do. He thought it was all a joke, but now, he realised that Astrid was telling the truth all along and she was only trying to protect them from getting hurt ... from death.
Quinn was on his way to hurt Sienna, and he had to do everything in his power to protect her. Even if it meant giving up his own life to keep her safe. He felt like he was choking on the anxiety building up inside him. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. He couldn’t stand around, waiting for Quinn to attack.
‘Ok,’ she said, her eyes darker than ever before, ‘but if we do this, we can’t do it alone.’
CHAPTER 18
Kai mulled over and over again how he was going to explain to Sienna that, because of him, her life
was in grave danger. He didn’t know how to face her with such terrifying news. She had gone through so much since they’d started seeing each other. It definitely hadn’t been an easy transition into a relationship. He dialled her number and she picked up on the first ring.
‘Hey, that was quick,’ he answered.
‘Yes, well, I was wondering where you were and since you didn’t have your cell phone with you all afternoon, it was kind of hard to get hold of you,’ she said, sounding a little worried.
‘No need to worry,’ he reassured her. ‘I’m fine. I’m almost at your place. Just wait for me.’ The wound Astrid had ripped into his shoulder had taken longer to heal than he expected. The vampire poison that she ejected into her victims or meals through her fangs slowed down the healing process, even though Kai had the power to heal quickly. To humans or animals, her poison would be lethal, depending on how much she injected into them – with Kai, she only injected a little – to teach him a lesson.
They’d spent the entire afternoon together at the falls, discussing a way forward. Astrid was sure she could pick up the smell of a gargoyle sneaking around town, but she wasn’t too sure. However, she assured Kai that it wouldn’t be long before Quinn descended upon them. She told him to stay close to Sienna, and had left town in a hurry to recruit others that would stand with them and fight. At first, he was unsure and had doubted her every word, but he soon realised that, in her own misguided ways, she was only trying to protect him and Sienna from the underworld beasts that were planning to attack them. Kai didn’t know how to thank her.
‘Don’t mention it,’ she smiled, flashing elongated fangs. He didn’t need to say anything. His appreciation showed in every aspect of his being.
‘But why are you helping me Astrid?’ he asked.
She kept quiet for a little while and sat down on a nearby rock, suddenly looking exhausted, as if the life had drained out of her, unexpectedly. For a couple of minutes, the only sound was the thunderous splashing of the waterfall making its way into the large pool beyond.
‘They killed someone I loved dearly...’ she trailed, deep in thought. ‘I, too, fell in love with a human,’ she smiled as if she could see his face clearly in front of her. ‘He was everything to me. But they wouldn’t let me be with him. I didn’t have a chance like you do. I was completely caught off guard,’ she whispered as a lone tear ran down her cheek.
‘It was during the 16th century in Venice, Italy. Back then I loved to travel. It was exciting to try the blood of all kinds and types of humans from all over the world – each having their own scent and taste. I settled in Italy and made it my home.
‘Back then it was easy to get around without being noticed. Masked balls were held almost every night and there was even a time when people constantly wore their masks. It made feeding quite simple. Many vampires preferred to live in Venice back then. I was careless and did whatever I pleased.
‘I didn’t care about who saw me drink from humans. They probably didn’t even realise what was happening right before their eyes. I was also stronger back then. I drank more human blood. It became an overindulgence.
‘One night I cornered a young man in an alleyway. He was alone. He didn’t know what hit him. I almost sucked him dry – he had the sweetest blood I had ever tasted but something made me look at him. I don’t know what happened, but at that moment, when I looked into his eyes, I couldn’t continue. I took him home with me and nursed him back to health.
‘It took a long time and he was very ill – anaemic. I couldn’t live with myself for hurting him, but I couldn’t understand why. After a while, he became well enough to speak. And even though he could remember everything I had done to him ... he stayed,’ she said, cracking a faint smile.
Thunderclouds started pulling in above them, but they didn’t care. Kai bent down and sat next to Astrid, reaching out to put his arm around her, but she shot him a disapproving eye and he stopped mid air.
‘His name was Demitrio Rossi,’ she continued, suddenly lost in her tale. ‘He was tall and slender, but he looked quite rugged. Not your average run-of-the-mill kind of guy. You could see he had been a hands-on type of man. He was a builder. But his eyes - they were dark and alluring. I had never seen such eyes before. Then, before I knew it, I was taken with him and for some unknown reason, he with me.’
‘Astrid...’
‘Don’t,’ she said, wiping away a tear. ‘It didn’t last long though. Quinn found out and, without warning, one day, I found out that they were after us for falling in love and betraying the laws of our kind, but I was just as hard-headed as you are now. I couldn’t save him.
‘I tried so hard to save him,’ she said, pain flowing across her face. ‘But they got to him first and displayed his gruesome killing for all to see. Staked, like he was a vampire. They pinned him up against a wall, displaying him like a portrait, obviously a warning to me... .’
‘I’m so sorry Astrid.’
‘It was a long time ago. Besides, we have to focus on saving Sienna now.’
Kai was surprised at Astrid’s vulnerability. She always seemed so tough and untouched by anything, but it all made sense to him now. She was trying to hide from her pain and the only way to do that, was to act unaffected by anything. Her vulnerability, however, only lasted until her tragic love story came to an end. She stood up and looked up into the dark sky, and her eyes turned dark and emotionless once again.
‘Get going Kai, before it’s too late,’ she said with an urgency that made him jump to his feet. ‘It’s going to start raining soon and if we’re going to recruit helpers in time, then I’d better scoot. Got quite a few people to go see,’ she said, almost merrily.
Kai looked at her incredulously, but he understood. She had said her words and that was enough. She had proven herself and why she had behaved the way she had.
‘Take care of Sienna,’ she said before she bolted off, leaping up, and over the waterfall. And then she was gone.
CHAPTER 19
It was almost dark, with clouds packing quickly across the afternoon sky. Kai parked his motorbike outside Sienna’s house and hurried inside just before the clouds broke. He took a breath as he raised his fist to knock on the door. Suddenly, his phone rang. ‘Hey Kai, what’s up bro?’ came Daniel’s familiar voice.
‘Hey Dan, how’s it going?’ he asked, happy to hear his best friend’s voice.
‘Wondering where you are?’ Daniel questioned.
‘I’ve been a bit busy lately. Sorry for being so scarce.’
‘Yeah, it’s because you’re hooking up with that sweet chick.’
‘Come on Dan, don’t talk about her like that,’ Kai said, shaking his head with a slight smile.
‘Sorry, sorry bro. Didn’t mean to talk down about your missus. So, we’re going to the pools tomorrow. You keen to join? The missus is more than welcome to come along.’
Kai thought about it for a second and said, ‘Sure, why not. Couldn’t hurt, right?’ he joked.
‘Great, then we’ll see you tomorrow,’ Daniel replied and hung up.
Sienna opened the door just as Kai was about to give a quick second knock. She greeted him with a huge hug and kissed him on the lips. ‘Hey you!’ She exclaimed excitedly.
‘Hey,’ he smiled, blushing and looking slightly embarrassed. Sienna’s parents were standing directly behind her, watching the two of them. Her dad didn’t seem too pleased at the great display of affection between them and simply gave a grunt and walked off with his newspaper as Kai greeted them.
‘Kai, is that motorbike of yours safe?’ Sienna’s mother asked, disapproving of their means of transportation.
‘I’ll be sure to drive slowly, ma’am. I brought an extra helmet for Sienna and a leather jacket.’
‘Mom, I’ll be fine. Kai is very careful,’ Sienna said, rolling her eyes as she walked out the door. She was wearing a pair of tight-fitting, dark blue jeans, a green vest top and brown leather boots. ‘I promise,’ she insisted, seeing tha
t her mother still didn’t look too happy. She threw on the brown leather jacket, which, coincidentally, suited her shoes perfectly. ‘Nice,’ she said with a smile.
Her mother shook her head, ‘Well, then just be safe, and give us a call when you’ve arrived at the movies.’
‘Yes mother,’ she said, taking Kai by the arm.
He led her out to the bike and carefully helped her strap on the helmet. ‘You look cute,’ he smiled.
‘Why, thank you,’ she said, giving him a small curtsy.
He helped her onto the back of the bike and they took off slowly while Sienna’s mom was still watching through the window. As soon as they were out of sight, Kai upped the revs, sending a sparkling giggle out of Sienna.
****
Kai was relieved that Sienna had opted to watch a movie that evening. He didn’t know how to tell her what was going on. For now, it seemed better to keep her in the dark on what he and Astrid were planning. She would have a fit if she knew that they were planning a counter-attack on their underworld enemies. He felt anxiety slither down his back when Sienna asked if they could hang out at his house for a while, in the hope of getting a break from her parents.
They seemed overprotective since she got hurt in the forest, even though she never told them the true story behind what had happened. She cuddled up next to Kai on the oversized couch in his living room as reruns of old movies played in the background.
He could feel Sienna looking at him, and it made him nervous. She was fiddling with her fingers, like she wanted to say something but didn’t know how. He looked at her, giving her a sideways smile, wondering what was going through her mind. She looked away awkwardly.
A slight tint of blush shot to her cheeks. He knew she was nervous, but didn’t know if she knew how nervous he was, sitting there, alone with her.
‘Not much on television tonight, huh?’ he asked, shifting uncomfortably.